


Patchwork Family

by 10k_au



Category: Z Nation (TV)
Genre: F/M, Lost Baby, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 16:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8496817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/10k_au/pseuds/10k_au
Summary: Reader finds a familiar looking child, at the same time that 10k finds a baby of his own.





	

10k wanders around the outside of the car, peering inside at the zombies sat in the seats. They snap and claw at the windows, watching him pass them. He pulls open the back door, hoping that there may be some supplies left and guarded by the dead. His eyes wash over the inside, and he freezes, sights locking onto something that he couldn’t imagine ever finding on one of his trips out.

The something stares back. He blinks once, and the baby does the same. That’s right, a real live baby. It sits in its car seat, eyes wide and hands gripping at the straps keeping it safe. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me” He pikes the zombie sat next to the child, and biting at her from inches away. It falls limp and the baby screams. One long, shrill cry. The remaining zombies react, straining against their seatbelts.

“SHHHH!” 10K slips his knife back into his belt and scrambles to undo the car seat and pull the toddler free. She must be only one or two years of age. Her hair is soft and wispy, dark in colour, and she’s wearing an all in one pink outfit, with ducklings littered all over it. He manages to undo the clips, and pulls her free, holding her at arm’s length and staring at her, still in shock. 

“What the hell do I do with you?” He looks around and over his shoulder, as if trying to glimpse a clue to aid him in the situation. Well he can’t just leave her here. She giggles a little, and he frowns, watching her swing her arms up and down in his grasp. Decision made to take her back to you, he flounders for a moment, trying to figure out how to carry everything he needs to. Eventually, he tucks the kid under his shoulder, holding her with his elbow, and picks up his bags, hoping that he doesn’t encounter any more zombies on the way back.

“Try and find some water, she says” he mumbles to himself as he starts off, “Any kind of food, she says, I doubt she’s going to want to eat the kid.” As if on cue, the child wriggles in his grasp, and he grumbles, adjusting his hold to prevent her getting free and falling.

2 HOURS LATER…

You sit down on a log, sliding your heavy back pack off of your back and throwing it to the ground. The kid runs around in front of you, wielding his slingshot and making a growling sound at the back of his throat. You watch him, taking a swig of water from your flask.

“Hey” you call out to him, “Do you want some water?” He turns to look at you for one second and then without a reply, he runs off again. You roll your eyes and screw the lid back on, hooking the flask back onto your bag. With another look across the horizon, you see 10k’s shape moving towards you, arms full of loot. You grin and wave as he approaches, shielding your eyes from the sun with your other hand.

When he’s closer, you point over your shoulder to where the kid is playing behind you.

“I stumbled upon…” you start. You’re cut off immediately, by a loud gurgling and screaming. You stop and for the first time, you realise what he has under his arm. Another child. You freeze and stare at it for a moment, trying put your scrambled brain back together. When you can finally make your lips move again, you raise your voice to try and be heard over the crying child.

“What the hell?”

10k squints at you, obviously finding it hard to hear you still. He drops one of his bags and hikes the toddler higher up, looking at it as though he wants to drop kick it across the field.

“I was looking in…” his voice trails off, drowned out by the kid YOU’D found Cawing loudly like a crow behind you, you look back to see him perched on the log you’d been sat on. 10k looks at him with shock, mouth hanging open a little. You shake your head as the kid caws again, louder this time. In response, the toddler whimpers and bursts into tears, limbs flailing even more. 10k doesn’t react for a moment, and then when he does, he bounces the little girl the tiniest bit, almost dropping her on her head. She cries harder, and he jumps, almost as if he forgot he was holding her.

“Where the hell did you get a baby?” you shout.

CAW CAW

10k wrinkles his nose up and makes a sound that sounds like ‘huh?’ There’s a moment of you two just looking at each other and then his face lights up with a grin. He punches the air with his free hand and say’s something you only catch every other word of.

CAW CAWWWWWWW-CAW. The crows join in with him, making the ruckus twice as loud. The sound drills into your skull and you pull your hood up around your head.

“I found him in the woods!” You try, “What about her?” You point at the bundle of pink under his shoulder, he looks at your motioning and then looks at the girl, his mouth making another o. He lifts her up and holds her at arm’s length, his mouth moving, and a frown on his head.

“Car with …. In…. undo them…. Food or”

“I can’t understand a word you’re saying!” frustration finally pours out in your voice. He looks at you, seemingly concerned and tucks the baby back under his shoulder. Then he lifts both hands and placing a couple of fingers into his mouth, he whistles. You cover your ears, wincing at the pitch. When you take away your hands, the squawking has stopped completely. The boy with the slingshot runs past you and into 10k’s legs, wrapping his arms around them. 10k bends down a little, wrapping an arm around his back and hugging him. You watch on in surprise, unsure of what’s going on.

“You know him?” you ask, finally able to hear yourself.

“Yeah” replies 10k

“I thought you were dead” He say’s to the boy. “I can’t believe you’re here.” He then looks up at you and smiles gently, nodding down at where he’s holding the kid tightly against him still.

“This is 5k” he tells you. You splutter a little with laughter, hiding your face in your jumper. Then you tilt your head to the side and give both of them a questioning look.

“Really?!” you chuckle. “Is he like some kind of love child?”

He stares at you, trying not to smile.

“How would that even be possible.” He says. “He’s at least eight years old”

“Alright, alright” you try to compose yourself, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear under your hood and chewing at your bottom lip.

“What about that one?” You point to the other child, still hanging under his armpit, now making a soft huffing noise every now and again. He seems to have forgotten about her again, because his head snaps to her, and his mouth falls into that familiar o shape.

“Oh yeah” he whispers.

“That one yours?” you ask him.

“I found this one in a car, I had to mercy all of her family.” He looks at her for a long while, and then to your awe, he lifts the other hand and clucks at her chin, giving her a cheesy smile. Your eyebrows raise involuntarily.

“You’re good with her” you tell him. You move over and stroke the little girls ebony hair, looking into her big blue eyes. “What are we going to do with her?” He lets you take her and you lift her up, cooing gently.

“We don’t really have a choice do we?” 10k mutters. “We’ll have to take her with us.” You nod and kiss her on the forehead, smiling as her face breaks into her own little grin.

“And… and 5k?” you press, struggling not to laugh again.

“Him too” he says. He lifts him up and puts him on his shoulders, holding on to his legs. “With the way we keep finding people, we might just run into the others soon.

“Just no more kids” you moan.

ONE FURTHER WEEK…

You’d been walking for the whole day, 5k was up ahead somewhere, shooting at zombies with pebbles. It seems as though 10k had taught him well. Speaking of 10k, he had his hands full again, his rifle over one shoulder, a bag full of nappies and sugar water over the other. ‘Carrie’ as we’d dubbed her wriggling in his arms.

You’d become quite attached to him as a father figure. It was so sweet watching him play with her and feed her. In fact, he hardly even let you help, he preferred to do it himself. With a little lesson here and there of course, on how to change a nappy and how to get her unruly hair to stay in the tiny little pigtails he was putting it in.

You carried all the supplies you could, but honestly, Carrie was taking up most of the space, and you were running out of space.

Suddenly bodies rushed out from the trees. Your hands flew up into the air and your bags and boxes all dropped to the ground with a thud. 10k couldn’t do anything, except turn away to shield Carrie behind himself.

After a few seconds you recognise them, Warren stands with her gun pointed at you, the others slightly behind you. You almost buckle out of relief.

“10k?” She gasps “Y/N?!” she laughs and drops her weapon arm, stepping forward to embrace you. You give her a gentle hug and then as she turns to 10k, she notices Carrie.

“Woah” She mutters. “And who is this?” She steps back, uncertain.

“This is Carrie” 10k tells her, gesturing for her to wave. Carrie does a little flashing motion with her fingers and 10k grins.

“You did NOT call your kid Carrie” protests Murphy. “Have you never seen a horror film in your life?” He earns himself a jab in the kidney from Addy, who takes one look at the baby and then turns away and walks away, shaking her head and throwing her hands up in exasperation.

“Kid….how long exactly have you been gone?” Asks Doc, stepping forward. He looks genuinely confused. Perhaps he thinks that the weed has started to actually take full months of his memory away.

“10k found her in a car” you tell them all, making it clear that she’s not yours. “The same day I found 5k”

Doc looks startled. “You found the little one? Where is that kid?” 10k points past him into the distance where 5k is talking to his flock of corvids. With a renewed energy he starts and half runs off to him.

Warren and the others turn back to you. Warren gives you a look that tells you that she’s not exactly happy. You shrug. What can ya do?

“Hey, guy’s I got some supplies from the next town over.”

Everyone turns to look at Vasquez appearing from the woods. He’s carrying some wood, a couple of bottles of water and a backpack that you suppose is full of food. He looks at you, and he smiles, a twinkle in his eyes. Then his gaze floats to 10k, and Carrie. His face drops, eyebrows raising in the same way that Warren’s had. Then he drops the wood and turns around, disappearing back into the trees.

“Well we’re not going to see him for another few weeks” Doc mumbles.

“He’ll find his way back” Warren replies “I swear he has a full on radar system installed. Right now though, we have to figure out what we’re going to do with the baby.”

“Carrie” 10k reminds her brightly.

“Carrie” repeats Warren in acknowledgement.

“Look” says Murphy in a tone you don’t like. “If I wasn’t allowed to keep my Lucy, they’re not keeping their troll.”

You glare at him, Unhappy with where his train of thought is going. In the corner of your eye you see Doc and Addy talking to 5k, and it looks as though he might be actually attempting to talk back in English. You smile, unbelieving that your family is back together.

Warren and Murphy are bickering, 10k is absorbed in Carrie, and Vasquez is again AWOL, but you’re just glad that everyone is okay.


End file.
